tango

Please include the link. I'm curious about these numbers as they don't make sense. Perhaps they include those on long term sick leave? In the private sector, there either is no long term sick leave(they get fired instead), or it's private insurance and not counted in company sick days. I think this is just more bias against the public service. Need to check your reference for further clarification.

Remember this story? http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/...spaper-man.html B.C. man alleges assault and racial abuse by 3 off-duty police officers Last Updated: Friday, January 23, 2009 | 5:35 PM PT Phil Khan says he was beaten because he did not provide immediate help to a man who asked for directions. (CBC) The man who was allegedly assaulted by three off-duty Metro Vancouver police officers says he was beaten, robbed and racially abused. West Vancouver officer avoids jail for assault Last Updated: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | 2:16 PM PT Comments182Recommend82 CBC News West Vancouver police officer Const. Griffin Gillan enters provincial court Wednesday to hear his sentence for assault.West Vancouver police officer Const. Griffin Gillan enters provincial court Wednesday to hear his sentence for assault. A West Vancouver police officer has been given a conditional 21-day sentence for a drunken assault on a 47-year-old newspaper deliveryman in downtown Vancouver in January. The sentence handed down Wednesday means Const. Griffin Gillan, 25, will not spend any time behind bars but will be limited in his movements for the three-week period, undergo six months probation and have a criminal record. Gillan must remain in his residence between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., must not contact the victim of the assault, and is not allowed to leave the province without written permission of the court. Gillan has been suspended from the West Vancouver force without pay and faces a disciplinary hearing in which he could be fired. The victim, Phil Khan, told police he had been beaten and robbed by three off-duty police officers outside the Hyatt Hotel. ... Police assault victim Phil Khan testified he was attacked by three police officers who uttered racial slurs as they beat him.Police assault victim Phil Khan testified he was attacked by three police officers who uttered racial slurs as they beat him. ... A second officer, Const. Jeff Klassen of New Westminster police, has been charged with one count of assault over the same incident. He pleaded not guilty in March. The third officer who was present, a member of the Delta police force, was not charged as investigators concluded he had tried to stop the attack. more... http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/...t-sentence.html http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Transcrip...2370/story.html I hope he does lose his job.

Those damned cheeky squirrels! You tell them for me that they may think they are cute, but they are just furry-tailed rodents! You have to keep them in their place.

Nothing to talk about anymore! I was in Toronto the other day, drove past two parks full of garbage bags. It didn't smell as bad as Yonge St on a normal Sunday when all restaurants throw a weekend's worth of garbage into the back alleys and it isn't picked up until Monday. So ... now Toronto's normal stench can resume! lol After 36 days of stench, Toronto's garbage strike is over JENNIFER LEWINGTON AND BRODIE FENLON TORONTO — From Tuesday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2009 02:51AM EDT A sprawling month-long civic strike in Canada's largest city ended yesterday, with two of Toronto's largest unions holding on to key benefits from the cash-strapped municipality. The three-year deal preserved benefits for nearly 30,000 current workers - including a hot-button bankable sick-day scheme - and also included modest wage gains, sources told The Globe and Mail. The deal ends a 36-day strike that brought garbage collection to a halt and shuttered summer camps, libraries and swimming pools. It was the longest labour dispute in the city's history. more... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nation...article1233260/

I would suggest a few minor changes: "O Canada! Our home and on native land! True patriot love in all thy sons of us commands. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North, strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, We stand on guard for thee. God We keep our land glorious and free ! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee."

How do we get over the idea that some people 'work harder' and contribute more 'to the community', while others are 'lazy bums', 'sit around drinking beer', and take from, rather than give to the community? I'm afraid that some people will always insist on more individual rewards for their 'service'.

OR ... on your way in you give your unsorted bottles to the guy with his hand out in front of the store. I mean, why give him money and then sort your own bottles? Alternatively, if you don't care about the money, just leave them out on recycle night. The guys who come around at night show more initiative to work for their money than the guy with his hand out at the beer store.

It is.

Or more accurately, if you read the thread, those of us who were having a good laugh were rudely interrupted by those who insistently and without any sense of humour want to get rid of hate crimes. Are you opposed to the 'white nation' ice floe idea? I think it suits the ws'ies perfectly!

(KK, WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT DUB?) The apparatus of extermination was designed and used for every group that Hitler wanted to destroy, including ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust..._and_death_toll Jews 5.9 million Soviet civilians 6million (debated) Soviet POWs 2–3 million Ethnic Poles 1.8–2 million Romani 220,000–1,500,000 Disabled 200,000–250,000 Homosexuals 5,000–15,000 Jehovah's Witnesses 2,500–5,000 total number of Holocaust victims is between 11 million and 21 million people The Soviets have the highest death toll, if all are all included, but I'm not very knowledgeable about that debate. The genocide in Poland is particularly underreported/unknown. It was Poles harbouring Jews, as often presented, but also systematic genocide against Poles themselves beginning with political officials, professionals, academic, cultural and religious leaders, etc. Approximately 12% (3m) of Poles were killed by Hitler, and possibly as many again died in Soviet 'labour camps'. The Romani people too were hard hit, perhaps out of proportion to their numbers. I would speculate that homosexuals would be hard to identify since many more than today would be 'in the closet'. However, I'm sure they got as many as they could. In his 'purification of the Aryan race', Hitler did exterminate other 'undesirable' (to him) groups as well as Jews. Why is there more attention to the genocide of Jews? I think they have taken a more active role in educating the world about the holocaust. Maybe they were more concentrated in Germany, thus the single most identifiable group to the world? Perhaps the Soviets didn't want to acknowledge the extent of destruction of their population? Perhaps the disabled, Romani and homosexuals still have more 'enemies' in the world who don't acknowledge their loss as important?

It's not likely that 53% of Canadians would attack someone due to race. Recall ... it's just the hater/attackers who get the 'ice floe' treatment. We're all immigrants. What distinction are you trying to make?

Yes it is. I wonder if Harper will ever reconsider the morality of what he has done, say perhaps when his own son is 15 years old? http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/f...omar-khadr.aspx On April 23, a federal court justice ordered the Conservative government to lobby Washington to send Mr. Khadr to Canada. At the very least, the judge ruled, the government was obliged to try to protect Mr. Khadr from being unlawfully detained, from being abused by his captors, and from being locked up longer than necessary. The government didn't waste any time filing an appeal of the decision. In its appeal case, government lawyers recently argued that Ottawa has no obligation to even take the moderate step of raising the issue of Omar Khadr's repatriation with American officials - a position Liberal MP Irwin Cotler said is highly disturbing. "Omar Khadr's detention - and the Guantanomo process to which it is intimately tied - has been decried by both the Canadian and American Supreme Courts. Nonetheless the government is choosing to abandon this Canadian citizen," said Mr. Cotler. "The government must appreciate that it is not above the law. It has an obligation to protect the human rights of Canadians - and no decision coming from its offices can alter that reality."

Like I said, it's a scam, and a sop to the 905er commuters. Who benefits? Certainly not us. David Crombie and his buds will certainly benefit from the monopoly on the battery stations though. Think McGuinty and other pols have a piece of that action? I'd bet on it.

My feelings too dub. Can any of the Israel supporters explain why Israel should not stay within its legal borders?

Chronic malnutrition in Gaza blamed on Israel Donald Macintyre reveals the contents of an explosive report by the Red Cross on a humanitarian tragedy Saturday, 15 November 2008 The Red Cross says the diets of those living in the impoverished Gaza Strip are deteriorating AFP/GETTY/MAHMUD HAMS The Red Cross says the diets of those living in the impoverished Gaza Strip are deteriorating The Israeli blockade of Gaza has led to a steady rise in chronic malnutrition among the 1.5 million people living in the strip, according to a leaked report from the Red Cross. It chronicles the "devastating" effect of the siege that Israel imposed after Hamas seized control in June 2007 and notes that the dramatic fall in living standards has triggered a shift in diet that will damage the long-term health of those living in Gaza and has led to alarming deficiencies in iron, vitamin A and vitamin D. Irrelevant. Palestinians, like all peoples, have a right to self-determination, not occupation. It's just silly to think "They should WANT us to take over!" That's exactly like USians saying Canada should WANT to be part of the US. (manifest destiny ) Not interested. Ain't going to happen. fugoff USA. Obviously, Palestinians feel the same about Israel. And realistically ... they've been driven from their former homes, found new ones, and here comes Israel again to drive them out again, and they are supposed to welcome it? Gazans are forced to resist is because they are surrounded and no longer have anywhere to move to. I can't believe you actually think Palestinians should want to be ruled by Israel. Are you truly serious about that? Because that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in these threads. Do you have any understanding of human nature and human rights at all? Get real!

That's the maximum speed. What's the minimum? How could there possibly even be a minimum, given city congestion? I could go everywhere in my city without any problem at all, and I think in Toronto too, just by scoping out routes on back streets - which I do anyway. edit- ps ... You must live in the suburbs and shop at the malls, Argus. "No stores" ??? Simply not true. I'm talking about downtown in cities, where the lack of O2 from exhaust fumes is most apparent and most in need of remediation.

I never rooted for Israel to the exclusion of others. Rather, I hoped Israel would be able to rise above the conflict, not become the oppressor itself, and establish a peaceful homeland among its neighbours. Israel has failed, imo. Unless you can point me to indisputable evidence from Palestinians that this occurred, those are not 'givens' but perhaps bias and defamation. What if Palestinians voluntarily shield their soldiers among them? Do you know? What do you think of Israeli soldiers' orders to shoot anyone they found in a house in Gaza, including children? There's enough atrocity to go around, and none of it gains my sympathies. The way forward from here is my interest, and it cannot be based on tit-for-tat grievances as that will go on forever, as we see in our discussions here. I really do not give a damn who did what to whom in the past: That's for an international court to sort out, not me. However, I do care that no atrocity like Israel's recent attack on Gaza ever happen again. Ineffectual 'rocket fire' be damned: Israel's response was far out of proportion to any threat from Gaza.

"most" agreed! It must really stink under Mr Canada's cape! To borrow a thought ... that must be why his ideas are so shi**y! I don't agree with him on this one either, because that isn't my personal experience. The people I met when briefly working in a jail, medium and maximum security, were very interested in improving their situation. They were very grateful, excited, emotional, child-like (the men friggen cried!) when given an 800 number for the GED program (high school equivalency). They wanted to know 'my secret to success' ("Get a job you like.") And they were very respectful. I recognized them all ... they are, by and large, the products of 'special education' in our schools. Not to knock special ed ... they are the people with learning disabilities or environmental damage who are virtually unemployable in our world. It's time the 'far right' appreciated the gifts genetics and environment have bestowed upon them simply by luck, and stopped stomping on those who don't have their advantages. It's just sick. It's not like some people can be condemned for 'making bad choices' of their genetic or environmental circumstances, nor can the Mr Canadas be applauded for 'making good choices' of theirs. Fact is, for people born into disadvantages, just surviving however they can takes at least twice as much discipline, effort and social smarts as it does for those who have advantages they never had. It's funny how we have all these statistics on the incidence of birth defects, learning disabilities, environmental deprivation, poverty/malnutrition, child abuse, incest, sexual abuse, etc ... the hidden disabilities ... and no one ever wonders what happens to those 'children'. What often happens is they end up in jail because they simply can't compete for jobs, and society, especially on the 'right', pities them as children but shuns and excludes them as adults. The only difference between an alcoholic on the street and one behind a Bay St desk is that the latter can afford his addiction. "Hug a thug" and you will be amazed at the beautiful person who emerges, only to be shot down by the 'Mr Canadas' of society again and again and again. However, this is a tangent about prisons, not on the topic of Reena Virk and her young female killer. Another trial? My god. Society can't believe a teen girl could do that? Does society know what may have been done to her? Not excusing ... just pointing out that people often live out what they've learned in childhood to the point where society needs protection from them.

Hark! Has kimmy finally found a sense of humour? No, just mocking as usual. sigh. Re-education sounds good to me. Wifebeaters and drunk drivers go to 'a program'. Violent racist thugs could use one too, to learn how to be a citizen in today's world without victimizing people due to race or other characteristics.

You have said the key words: "They have the power" Absolutely correct. Israel has all the power to change the situation. ONLY Israel has the power to change the situation. How do you make a wall high enough to prevent rockets? You can't. Thus, the wall is not the answer. How do you terrorize a population enough to prevent any teenage radical from ever firing a homemade rocket over "the wall"? You can't. Thus siege and terrorism is not the answer. I respect Israel's right to security and peace. I would like to see that very much, but this way simply won't work - it's a bitter standoff and the people of Gaza have nowhere to withdraw to so in reality, only Israel can change the present situation. Only Israel, too, can create a new vision of its future: Is "a Jewish state", even one with security walls, even feasible in today's 'globalized' world? What about the rights of the Arab minority? What about the rights of those forced from their homes and homeland? I know the whole situation isn't simple at all. But taking it in small steps ... right now it is Israel ... and only Israel ... that has the power to take the first step in a new direction. As a youth, along with much of the world, I cheered Israel's growing military might - a persecuted people with no homeland finding their feet, standing up to persecuters on their own land. Heady stuff! But when the persecuted become the persecuters ... perceptions change. And that's what's happened this year. It has become obvious to the whole world that Israel has continued on a path that is no longer tenable. I am constantly reminded of a story I read (here?) about some Israeli soldiers visiting Canada, taken on a boat ride by Jewish Canadian hosts, where a conversation about wildlife took place: Host: Is there much wildlife left in Israel? Soldier: Well, there's still a few Palestinians running around! (Soldiers dissolve in laughter. Hosts and other guests finish the boat ride in uncomfortable silence.) I don't blame soldiers. I never blame soldiers. But that's the 'culture' they are provided with. Palestinians are animals: Kill them on sight. It's not right, and it isn't defensible.

In the exact situation of Gaza, blockaded, what would/could you do?

There are others that will do the city speed limit, and that's the kind I want. But the province won't allow two standards for 'cars'. They will only allow ones that have more capacity than many people need, and are much more expensive than many people can afford. To me, it's a scam.

When did Canada kill 900 civilians?

Sounds like a jail to me. Until the maximum security 'wall' is opened, they can't be peaceful: Their children are starving and dying from lack of supplies due to the siege. How far back do we go with the historical tit-for-tat? I've seen posts about several thousand years BC! Do you really think the solutions lie in the past? I don't. I'm more interested in what the immediate solutions are, and I think it's pretty clear that if Israel wants peace, it has to withdraw to allow an international zone of safety. The living situation of the people is untenable, and will continue to give rise to opposition. Who would do any different in their place?

This is what we were discussing - the topic. Are you volunteering, snowflake? Obviously no one is seriously talking about deporting anyone. But in the case of people who victimize others because of race, sexual orientation, gender, etc, there should be a special place for them to learn how to be a real citizen. An ice floe sounds like a good place to me! Would you like fries with that?